Three Time Management Priorities
Critical Techniques for Setting Deadlines and Daily Commitments
Jun 12, 2007
For writers that work at home or in an otherwise flexible freelance career, time management can make or break productivity. Managing priorities will determine whether you get the job or not, whether you get paid or not, and whether you get a return phone call or not. It is true that most time management really isn't about managing your time; time management is about managing the activities that take time. In a career where so many are self-employed or freelance artists, managing time takes on a whole new meaning.
1. Priority of Setting Goal Deadlines
You can always tell a goal without a deadline. It's that thing you wanted to do a few years ago but never got around to it. It's the item on your to-do list that you perpetually move to the next day. If you don't have someone assigning deadlines for you, create your own. Develop a final deadline for finishing the article, a chapter, or an ebook. Write it on your calendar and hold yourself accountable for taking this deadline seriously.
2. Priority of Setting Intermediate Deadlines
Setting deadlines between your start and finish date serves several purposes. It helps you mentally and physically break up large goals into smaller, more manageable tasks, which keeps you from becoming overwhelmed. It also helps you see how much you have accomplished in the time you have spent on your goals, and what you have to finish during your remaining time. Procrastinators will benefit most from setting intermediate deadlines. All you need to do to define intermediate deadlines is to create a goal date for getting to each stage of your project. Write these deadlines in your calendar and honor them.
3. Priority of Daily Commitment
Part of time management involves spending time on the activities that are of the highest priority. For writers, that means spending time writing. Even as we juggle submissions, editing, research, and errands, the most important and obvious task of all is writing. Writers often spend more time thinking about writing than actually writing. At the end of the week this could mean an entire screenplay in your head, but if there are no words on the page, you can't sell your script. At the very least, schedule a regular time (or two!) each and every day and commit yourself to uninterrupted writing. Note: this is not editing time, this is writing time. You can always edit later. Create first.
Most writers don't have bosses breathing down their neck or scheduled daily hours where they must make an appearance in an office or on a job site. The self-discipline of writing daily and assigning yourself deadlines is a critical step towards producing more, publishing more, and getting paid more.
For tips on defining your most valuable activities, read Pareto's Principles for Writers.
For time management and scheduling tips, read The Glass Jar and Rocks of Time.
